Thank you all for the reviews. They’ve been great and very inspiring. I fear this next chapter does not answer very many of your questions (and those it does are not explained very fully), but I promise I’m getting there.
Clark moved as fast as he could away from the earth, trying to distance himself from the place he called home. It had been ten years, it should not have hurt so much, but it was hard to forget the pain. Clark Kent had died that day and although he had desperately wanted to, he had not been able to find a reasonable way to bring him back. For awhile, he had thought it might be okay to stick around Metropolis as Superman. It was not the life he wanted, but at least he would get to be around Lois. But Lois did not want to see him when he tried to stop by after she cracked the Hamilton case. She just looked at him sadly.
“I know you can’t be everywhere at once, Superman,” she had said, “So, I knew one day you may not be there for me. I just wish it hadn’t been a day when Clark was the one in danger, not me. I’m sorry – I know it’s my fault that Clark died, but seeing you just reminds me of him. It’s too painful. Please, just go away.”
Clark had left that night certain that if he gave it enough time, Lois would move on and she would welcome Superman back into her life again. But she continued to seem depressed and uninterested in seeing him until she moved to Boston. And as she took smaller and smaller stories, her constant need for being saved disappeared and he had no good reason to see her.
He had looked for her after she left Long Island, just to know where she was, but he had not yet located her. Martha had tried to determine if anyone at NewsWire had any ideas when they called the Kents a few weeks ago looking for quotes for the program they were doing on the impact of Clark’s death, but the news program was not interested in being helpful since Martha and Jonathan had declined being on the show.
As for Superman, his affinity for Metropolis left with Lois. He had helped his parents pack up his belongs months earlier when they had gone to Metropolis to plan a memorial service for him. Since then, Smallville had been his homebase, although he came and went quietly so his parents would not be linked to the superhero. He knew he had to do something else. His parents were getting older and they could not support him forever. But he kept putting off the decision, hoping he could live off the farm after they passed away.
Superman’s exit from Metropolis was noticed, but with little fanfare. He still patrolled the city regularly as he did other large cities. As he did not need to leave time for Clark’s life, he was able to maintain a similar presence in Metropolis while being more visible in other large cities around the world as well. So while the press noted that Superman was less exclusively seen in Metropolis, after a few questions about why he suddenly had extra time on his hands, which Clark evaded successfully, everyone just happily accepted the new status quo.
Clark drifted among the stars, trying to calm himself down. If only there had been a way to let Lois know that he was all right. But without a real way to bring Clark Kent back, it just seemed cruel. Clark needed to remain dead, and so it would be easier for Lois to just believe that he was.
Hearing a loud rumbling sound, Clark lowered himself below cloud level. He scanned the area of the Pacific he was floating above carefully and even from this distance could make out the tidal wave making its way towards Indonesia. Clark shot down out of the sky, diving into the ocean.
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He was tired. Clark had perfected the method of stopping tidal waves years earlier, but it never got less grueling and so he was flying slower than normal over the California coastline on his way back to Smallville. Hearing a shout below, he saw an apartment building on fire and flew down to help. He swept into the building and grabbed the first woman he saw. Setting her down, he asked quickly if she was okay. She was sobbing, her black hair a mess around her young face. She was in her early thirties and looked familiar to Clark, but he did not even try to remember who she was as he raced back into the building.
He heard her voice as he moved away from her, “My sister is still inside with my daughter.” As Clark made his way back into the apartment he heard fire engines coming down the street. Luckily it was the middle of the day and the building seemed to be mostly empty aside from the apartment he was in. Moving to the back bedroom, Clark spotted the woman with the toddler in her arms looking out the window and screaming for help.
Grabbing her from behind, Clark flew both the woman and the child to the pavement next to her sister. The fire chief came over immediately. “Thanks, Superman. I think we can handle it from here.”
Clark smiled at him before turning back to the family. “Are you alright?” he asked, taking them in.
Catching sight of her face, he took a step backwards.
“Superman?” she asked softly.
“Lois,” he answered, his voice just as soft. Things clicked into place in his mind. The young woman was Lucy – that was why she had looked familiar.
Of its own volition, Clark’s hand raised to Lois’ face. “Lois,” he said again, as he stroked her cheek, smudging it with some black smut that was on his fingers from the fire. Neither noticed.
“You…you…” Lois took a step back and shook her head. Schooling her features she looked at him again, “How are you, Superman?”
“I’m okay. I hope you are well, Lois?” Clark kept a tight reign on his emotions. He desperately wanted to pull Lois into his arms and bury his head in her hair, but knew that that was not a possibility. At least he had gotten to her in time.
“I’m okay, too,” Lois said.
Clark gave a tight smile. He was not sure of the appropriate response here. Should he stay and offer to catch up or just take off? Were Lois and Superman really friends?
The fire chief came back as they stood facing each other. “It looks like everything is okay. The fire started a few floors above you,” he said to Lois and Lucy, “and it was well contained. You should be able to go back in a couple of hours.”
Superman smiled at Lucy who was holding her daughter tightly to her. “I’m glad you are alright. It was good to see you again, Lois,” he said, glancing at her.
Smiling at them for another moment, he raised his arm above his head and took off.
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Fueled by surprise, Clark’s flight home was faster than it had been prior to stopping in Smallville. Still, the farmhouse was quiet when he approached. He had been in Indonesia most of the night and subsequent day and it was now early evening in Kansas. Both his parents were in the barn closing things up for the night.
Entering the house, Clark spotted a plate of food his mother had left for him. He was not hungry, but did not want the gesture to seem unappreciated, so he ate quickly before showering and climbing into bed.
Clark’s eyes closed on the picture he kept by his bedside – Lois and him at the Kerth awards, Lois holding tightly to his arm, the two of them laughing. He had cherished that night – and not just for the Kerth he had won.
He felt like he and Lois had turned a corner – when he was nominated she was jealous and her behavior was typical Mad Dog Lane. However, by the night of the awards she had grudgingly agreed to go as his date and he was surprised at her attitude when they arrived at the awards banquet.
All traces of her earlier jealousy appeared to be gone – she had been the perfect date with no words of jealousy or references to the articles she had written in the past year. Early in the evening, before the ceremony, Lois had drifted off to speak with an old colleague who now worked at the New York Times. Approaching her later, Clark had unconsciously listened in to the exchange.
“Still, you’ve written some amazing articles this year, Lois,” Matthew had said. “You must be at least a little miffed at being past over in favor of a newcomer like Kent.”
Lois’ back had straightened slightly and her voice had a firmness to it as she replied, “I’m guessing you haven’t read Clark’s article, Matthew. If you had, you would see that there is no shame in being quote unquote passed over for Clark. His article was fantastic and I’m lucky to have snatched Clark up as my partner while he was a newcomer, before everyone else discovered just how amazing he is to work with.”
When Clark approached her, placing his hand lightly on her back, she had smiled at him warmly and introduced him to Matthew. She said nothing about the exchange, even later, and Clark never would have known had it not been for his superhearing.
It was moments like this that Clark remembered now - moments when the hard exterior Lois had perfected to guard herself was placed aside for an instant, moments that showed that Lois had cared for Clark even if not with the same admiration she had for Superman.
She had looked older today, her eyes held a pain he longed to erase. But despite that, she had been beautiful. Her hair was long, falling to midway down her back and the style suited her well.
Clark sighed – he always felt better knowing where Lois was even if he could not see her.
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Waking a few hours later, Clark felt refreshed. Glancing at the clock, he realized it was 10pm and his parents, who were up early with the farm, would be in bed. Going downstairs to rummage for some food, he found another plate waiting for him in the refrigerator. He smiled – he had tried telling his mom not to do that – that she did not need to cater to his strange schedule, but she had insisted. “I’m your mother, Clark,” she had said. “It’s my job.” When Clark insisted that it was not her fault her grown son lived at home and had a job with unreliable hours, she had smiled warmly at him. “Of course it’s not my fault, honey. It’s my blessing.”
Each time Clark found food waiting for him, he remembered this exchange and it helped to ease the pain he felt inside. He knew he was lucky to have his parents. They were the one thing that made being Superman full time bearable.
Bringing the plate of food his mother had left him to the microwave, he placed it inside. He poured himself a glass of milk while his dinner heated and had nearly finished the milk when he ran over to grab the plate before the machine beeped.
Sitting down at the table, Clark dug in. The food was good as it often was – his mom was a great cook. He grimaced when he hit a cold patch in his mashed potatoes, but gave it a short blast of heat vision and it barely interrupted his eating.
Placing his plate and silverware in the dishwasher, Clark stretched. It was time to fly to Metropolis and do his nightly patrol. Given that he had been in Indonesia last night, he thought he should also do a fast patrol of New York and Washington DC. He would deal with the rest of world tomorrow.
Or at least, that was the plan. But when he finished the patrol in DC, he felt energized. It had been a quiet night and he had finished quickly. So, Clark decided to head west and do a patrol of Seattle and San Francisco while he was up. As he approached the west coast, however, he started turning south rather than north.
Before long he found himself doing what could only be called a perfunctory patrol of San Diego before landing in front of an apartment complex in downtown. Clark figured it had been a couple of hours since he woke up, so it was likely close to 11pm here now. Looking at the windows in front of him confirmed that this was a good estimate. About half the apartments were dark, the others had only one or two lights shining.
Knowing that this was a bad idea, but powerless to stop himself, Clark floated up to the third floor, hovering outside a window on the corner. Looking inside, he came face to face with Lucy’s daughter. She was holding onto the edge of her crib and standing to look out the window.
Seeing Clark made her giggle and Clark, forgetting himself for a moment, began making funny faces at her. She laughed harder, encouraging him. It only took a few moments for the room to flood with light and Lucy and Lois to come inside to see what was causing the laughter. Lucy had seen him as she entered the room and was smiling slightly. Who ever would have imagined Superman making funny faces at a child?
Walking over to the window, she opened it. Still smiling, she said, “You know, it’s hours past her bedtime, Superman. She’s supposed to be asleep.”
Clark looked appropriately chastised, “I’m sorry. I was just coming to see if you were okay and she was looking out the window.”
Lucy smiled. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was surprised she had been able to tease Superman so normally, but given how normal his reaction was, she knew she would be able to do it again. For all his powers, he was still a man before everything else.
Her voice softer, she said, “I was kidding. Sammy never goes to sleep when she’s supposed to. Why don’t you come around to the front and I’ll let you in?”
Clark smiled at her, moving over to the door. Lois was standing in the doorway, her eyes appraising him. Entering, Clark saw Lucy behind her with Sammy in her arms and a young man next to them.
Lucy seemed to be the only one in control of her voice. Motioning towards Superman, she said, “Sean, this is Superman. He’s a friend of Lois’. Superman, this is my husband, Sean. And you’ve met Sammy.”
Clark smiled again at the little girl and then held his hand out to Sean. “It’s nice to meet you.” Sean gaped for a moment, but Lucy gave him a light whack on the back and he grasped Clark’s hand.
Finally finding his voice, Sean smiled at Clark, “Thanks for your help today with the fire.”
Clark smiled back, “It’s my job.”
Lois gave out a choked cry and all eyes moved to her. “Lo?” Lucy asked.
Without a word, Lois spun around and walked into a room behind her, closing the door.
Clark stared after her, not sure what to do. Looking at the floor, his voice quiet, he said, “I guess I should go. I didn’t mean to upset her.”
Lucy looked at him closely. It was amazing how much she was getting to know Superman as a person today.
“Don’t go, Superman, I’m sure she wants to see you. You should go in, I’m sure she’ll tell you what’s wrong.” Lucy hoped Superman would stay. Ever since Lois had lost her partner at the Daily Planet, she had been moody and unpredictable. In some ways, this had been good for Lucy – knowing that she could no longer count on her sister to pick up the pieces of her life had made Lucy grow up. But Lucy worried about her sister and hoped that having someone from Lois’ past around, someone else who had known Clark, would help Lois finally move past the guilt she held for Clark’s death.
Clark looked at her, not at all certain that Lucy was correct, but when Sammy nodded encouragingly at him, he took small steps towards the door Lois had dashed behind.
Knocking softly he called out, “Lois? Can I come in?”
As his super-hearing picked up the sound of her crying through the door, he nearly turned around and left, but then Lois called out a timid hello.
Clark opened the door and stood in the doorway. Whether or not he was giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, or himself some time to prepare for this conversation, he was not sure. But as he stood there, Lois walked up to him. In a gesture that unconsciously mimicked Clark’s from earlier in the day, Lois ran a hand along Clark’s cheek.
Her voice surprisingly strong through her tears, Lois asked, “It’s you, isn’t it?”
“What?” Clark replied, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat, but was not convinced that would help as Lois continued to run her hands lightly over his face.
In reply, Lois reached down and grabbed Clark’s hand leading him over to the bed. She sat down, her hold on his hand causing him to follow. When he was settled, she continued her exploration of his face, this time letting her hands fall onto his shoulders, across his chest, down his spine. Clark found himself holding his breath.
As her hands finally stilled from their exploration, Lois looked up at him, smiling thinly. “I don’t know how I never noticed before.” She was nearly whispering.
Clark continued to watch her, not sure what to say, not even clear what it was she was asking.
“I’m sorry for running out earlier,” Lois said, her voice still firm but soft. “I didn’t mean to. It was just that you said it’s your job to help and well, it’s not. And it’s important to remember that. It’s not your job and it’s not fair to get angry at you when you can’t be there.”
Clark continued to look confused and so Lois continued, “I blamed you for not showing up that night. I was so angry at you. I’m not anymore, now I’m just sad. I so wish you had shown up. Of course, now I think maybe you were there, and I don’t understand at all.”
Clark pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head. As his hand moved back down to his lap, Lois gasped.
“It IS you,” she repeated her words from earlier, but more emphatically this time. “This morning, I saw it, but just for a moment. I wasn’t even sure it was real, but when I thought about it later it all made sense. I was still sure I was crazy, but it’s like now that I see it, I can’t stop seeing it.” There was a pause while Clark tried to grab a hold of the conversation.
Lois smiled brightly for a moment and then lunged at him. “You’re alive! Oh my… you’re here!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Clark’s arms moved around Lois’ of their own accord. Lois leaned back slightly to look into his eyes, and then with her voice very solemn said, “You know I’ve wanted to tell you this for 10 years,” she paused to delicately run her hands over his cheek again and then in a soft voice finished, “I’m in love with you, Clark Kent.”
Clark gasped, unable to decide which had surprised him more – the fact that Lois knew it was him or the fact that she said she loved him. But before he had a chance to get his bearings and respond, Lois had moved out of his arms. Her right arm moved back and then swung around, making a resounding crack as it came in contact with his jaw.
